in Castle Valley presented this lovely rainbow spanning Adobe Mesa this early evening.
(Click image to enlarge.)
This rainbow ranks among the brightest and most intense of those I’ve observed, and lasted for about five minutes. I adjusted the contrast in the image a bit to darken the sky, but did not adjust the color saturation.
from southern Utah, coming on strong during the spring bloom.
Desert globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua).
Hopi blanketflower (Gaillardia pinnatifida).
at the feeder this morning as I enjoy my coffee.
seen here as it rises above a nearby mesa, as captured from Peach Beach on the Colorado River. Still two days to go until the full Moon.
this past weekend with friends from Colorado was big fun, examining the geology, mining history and high elevation landscape southeast of Castle Valley.
Broad panorama showing, from left to right, the high La Sal Mountains, Fisher Mesa, the Onion Creek collapsed salt-cored anticline, and the Fisher Towers area. (Click image to enlarge.)
Still accessible uranium mine adit in the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation on west side of Polar Mesa. This area was still producing uranium ore in the 1950s.
Descending through the stratigraphy of the Upper Jurassic-age Morrison Formation, one of the uranium-bearing strata on the Colorado Plateau. Elevation around 7,600 ft.
Still-standing headframe above an old uranium mine shaft. Based on picking around the mine dumps, the primary ore mineral appears to be carnotite.
in the Kayenta Formation, at 8,400 ft elevation at the Bull Canyon / Fisher Valley Overlook above Castle Valley, Utah.
late morning, just a few minutes drive from the house.
Pinhook cactus (Sclerocactus parviflorus).
Macro shot of pinhook cactus blossom.
Naked-stem sunray flowers (Enceliopsis nudicaulis) in bloom beneath Parriott Mesa.
from this morning, at 1/2000th of a second, still not fast enough to freeze their wingbeat.
in full resplendent glory near Dewey Bridge, Utah.
around 4:30 am MDT near Castle Valley, Utah. That’s me in the image, with my headlamp pointed straight up and held stationary during the 20 second exposure.
Tripod-mounted Canon 6D with Rokinon 14 mm lens at f/4, ISO 5000, 20 secs.
is now open for residents this breeding season despite the COVID-19 lockdown in Grand County, visited this morning near milepost 9 on SR 128 between Moab and Castle Valley, Utah. There are about a half-dozen stick nests built by Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) over the decades right across the river from a small pullout.
This is likely the female on the stick nest in a grove of Gambel oak trees.
This is likely the male, caught fishing on a gravel bar, just a short distance downstream below the nest.
at my feeder for spring! I’m a huge fan of these little guys, and was ready with my camera.
Black-Chinned Hummingbird (Archilochus alexandri).
pierces the Milky Way in its orbit early this morning above Castle Valley as seen here in this 15 sec exposure captured shortly after 5 am MDT. The ISS entered the frame near Antares and continued on its trajectory across the view for about four minutes duration. There’s even a faint meteor trace in the image!
Shot during early morning twilight with tripod-mounted Canon 6D with Rokinon 14mm lens at f/4, ISO 5000.
The time and trajectory of the transit of the ISS was predicted using Heavens-Above Pro and SkySafari apps.
are a reliable early bloomer in canyon country and a personal favorite.
Close-up of large, waxy blossoms of Echinocereus triglochidiatus.
to shoot the Milky Way, seen here from the Rocky Rapid access to the Colorado River near Castle Valley, Utah. I caught this at around 3:00 am MDT. using a very dim LED panel to illuminate the foreground.
The bright object in the lower-center is Jupiter, with the core of the Milky Way silhouetting the northern tip of Parriott Mesa. (Click image to enlarge.)
as seen today, hiding in the awakening cottonwood trees.
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus).
Common Raven (Corvus corax).
in Castle Valley, Utah, on this lovely morning.
plus the Milky Way above Porcupine Rim, shot at 4:30 am MDT. I get up early so you don’t have to!
Shot with tripod-mounted Canon 6D with Rokinon 14 mm lens, ISO 3200, f/4.0, 15 secs. (Click image to enlarge.)
along the Colorado River, upstream from Moab, Utah.
The prominent cliff-former is the Lower Jurassic Wingate Sandstone with the underlying Upper Triassic Chinle Formation that contains the angular unconformity.